Those of us who are both long time gun owners and supporters of regulations that make this society safer from gun violence breathed an ever so slight sigh of relief when Dick Metcalf wrote an editorial in the December 2013 Guns & Ammo which said what so many of us fully understand…that there are sensible firearm regulations which do not infringe on the Second Amendment, that there are common sense solutions to the “all too many examples of unsafe behavior”.

Was it a change in philosophy as this gun magazine, the largest and one of the oldest in the industry stepped a toe away from intransigence and toward sensible solutions? Apparently not.

November 6^th, just a few days after the original article was published the Editor of Gun & Ammo wrote an “apology”…an apology for stifling conversation on one of the most important discussions in the national arena,  an apology for throwing one of its own under the bus…well, not exactly. Jim Bequette, the editor apologized for pissing off his “hopping mad” readers [and his “hopping mad” advertisers]. He also doubled down on Guns & Ammo’s hard core, unfettered backing of the Second Amendment and, as seems to be the rule in the gun debate, if someone comes to the table with opinions that are not lockstep with the NRA, with the enthusiast community, and more important with the gun industry…under the bus with them.

“Dick Metcalf has had a long and distinguished career as a gunwriter, but his association with “Guns & Ammo” has officially ended.” Editor, Guns & Ammo, 11.6.13

Yep…fire him because he opened up the conversation. Fire him because he had the audacity to stand up and say “maybe we need to give this some thought”. But thought is the last thing on the mind of the gun fanboy community, the last thing on the mind of the 85 advertisers to Guns & Ammo…well, 86 if you count the monthly Viagra advertisement.

But are we back to square one, back to that point where the gun enthusiasts come to the table in lockstep, an air of absolute intransigence?  NO, we are not. Because now we know that there are folks in the gun enthusiast camp who know that the NRA’s blind support of the gun industry is wrong, who know that the best solution for gun owners is to come to the table, not throw rocks at it. That toothpaste can’t go back in the tube…it is out and now both sides of this important subject know that there is a viable third side…that of gun owners who support regulations.  And that is good.

It is somewhat ironic…or possibly just a cosmic coincidence that Dick Metcalf’s article came out just about the same time as the SLATE gun death ticker turned over 10,000. Maybe it is just a coincidence that it came out just as Virginia elected a governor who actively came out against the gun lobby in a very gun friendly state. Maybe it was just a coincidence that it came out as news of families of five, in four different states died from gunfire. Maybe it was just its time.

I was asked if Dick Metcalf would continue to work in the gun magazine industry…I strongly doubt it. That group has a very sad history of banishing anyone who dares to not stay in lockstep with their fringe opinion. And that is a very sad commentary on those in the gun enthusiast community…that they so very much fear dissent, fear that at some point the realization will gel that just maybe it is their opinion that is wrong, that their intransigence and stubborn support for the gun industry was not defined with reason, with facts, but forged from fear, uncertainty and dread…along with a request for a donation to the NRA.

If it was about the Second Amendment you would not be reading this. It is not. It is about hobbyists who like to shoot, it is about gun lobbyists defending the billion dollar gun industry, it is about a generation who does not like to hear the word “no”.

Put simply, Dick Metcalf did the right thing and he is being pilloried by gun enthusiasts, by the gun lobby and by the gun industry. Guns & Ammo did the wrong thing…throwing one of their own under the bus based on his opinions. This simple litmus test will help define you as you draw your conclusions.

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McAllister is a life long liberal, environmentalist, Eagle Scout, and even gun owner – born in Harlan, Kentucky and has lived in Southern California, New York City and now resides in Lexington, Kentucky as a Systems Analyst.